Chapter 272: Bluewave city 4.

"No."

"I did not say anything."

"You were thinking about it."

"The auction is useful."

"Useful for what?"

"Food."

"There is no food in the auction."

"There might be."

Su Yubing stared at her.

Mo Yuxin remained completely serious.

"Fine. We can go. But we will not bid on strange objects."

"Agreed."

That lasted until noon.

At a tea house, they overheard people discussing a rumor.

A merchant ship had disappeared three nights earlier.

It was not unusual for ships to disappear at sea. The Southern Ocean was full of dangerous demon beasts, storms, whirlpools, and ancient formations. But this particular ship had vanished inside the harbor boundary.

It had left the main dock after midnight.

It had never passed the outer seawall.

That was impossible.

Or at least, it was supposed to be.

The ship belonged to the Black Reef Trading House.

And the entire crew was missing.

No wreckage.

No blood.

No spirit fluctuations.

Nothing.

The city authorities had closed the pier where the ship had been berthed.

Mo Yuxin listened quietly.

Su Yubing drank tea.

A young cultivator at the next table was telling the story with great excitement.

"I heard the ship left by itself."

"A ship cannot sail by itself."

"This one did."

"Maybe the crew escaped."

"Then why did they leave all their belongings?"

Another cultivator leaned closer.

"I heard there was a bell on the ship."

Mo Yuxin’s hand stopped.

Su Yubing looked at her.

The cultivator continued.

"A black bell. Ancient style. Someone found it in the ruins beneath the harbor last month."

Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing exchanged a glance.

The same bell-like sound had come from the bronze token.

Perhaps it was coincidence.

Probably was.

But both of them had lived long enough to know that coincidences in the cultivation world were usually the beginning of trouble.

They did not investigate.

Not immediately.

Instead, they spent the day walking through the old city.

Bluewave City had a second layer beneath its busy markets. The older streets were narrow, and many buildings were centuries old. Some walls were carved with sea motifs. Some houses had foundations below the current street level.

They found a quiet courtyard where an elderly woman sold tea.

The woman recognized them as outsiders and immediately began talking.

"You are here for the auction?"

"Maybe," Su Yubing answered.

"Then do not stay near the north pier after midnight."

Mo Yuxin looked at her.

"Why?"

The old woman lowered her voice.

"Because the sea comes into the city sometimes."

Su Yubing blinked.

"During high tide?"

"No."

The woman pointed toward the north.

"There is no tide there. The sea simply appears."

Mo Yuxin was silent.

The old woman shook her head.

"People laugh when I say it. Let them. I have lived here for eighty years. I know this city."

She poured tea.

"Once every few decades, the water rises in the old district even when the sea is calm. When that happens, people disappear."

"And the city does nothing?" Su Yubing asked.

"The city lord sends people. They search. They find nothing. Then everything returns to normal."

Mo Yuxin asked, "When was the last time?"

The old woman looked troubled.

"Thirty-seven years ago."

The same year the city expanded the north harbor.

Mo Yuxin remembered the detail.

She had seen the date while reading the city history on a notice board.

Something was hidden.

But it was not their problem.

Not yet.

That evening, the couple walked along the seaside promenade.

The moon had risen.

The harbor lamps reflected across the water.

Su Yubing held Mo Yuxin’s hand and swung their linked hands lightly.

"We are supposed to stay out of trouble."

"We are."

"You look like someone trying to solve a mystery."

"I am thinking."

"That is worse."

Mo Yuxin laughed softly.

She pulled Su Yubing closer.

"We can leave tomorrow."

"We could."

"But?"

Su Yubing rested her head against her shoulder.

"But I want to see what happens."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"Then we stay."

They walked until the promenade became quiet.

There were fewer people here. The sound of the sea was clearer.

Su Yubing looked up.

"Yuxin."

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"Yes."

"You were very annoying."

"You were worse."

"I was elegant."

"You tried to rob me."

"That was a misunderstanding."

"You took my sword."

"I returned it."

"After three months."

Su Yubing smiled.

"You still married me."

Mo Yuxin looked at her for a long moment.

"I would marry you again."

The smile on Su Yubing’s face softened.

She stepped closer.

"Again and again?"

"Again and again."

Su Yubing wrapped her arms around her.

Mo Yuxin held her tightly.

The sea wind moved around them.

For a while, there was nothing else.

No sect.

No enemies.

No ancient secrets.

Just the two of them beneath the moon.

Su Yubing whispered, "I love you."

Mo Yuxin kissed her forehead.

"I know."

"That is not a proper answer."

"I love you too."

"Better."

They stayed there for a long time.

Then, sometime after midnight, a bell rang.

Dong.

Both women opened their eyes.

The sound had not come from the city.

It had come from the sea.

Mo Yuxin slowly turned toward the water.

The surface was calm.

Too calm.

Then she saw a shadow far beyond the harbor lights.

A ship.

A black ship.

It was sailing toward the city without any sails.

Su Yubing’s expression changed.

"That should not be possible."

Another bell rang.

Dong.

The bronze token inside Mo Yuxin’s storage ring vibrated.

She did not touch it.

She did not need to.

She could feel the old formation inside it waking up.

The black ship moved closer.

There were no lights on it.

No crew.

No sails.

No visible oars.

Yet it moved against the current.

The harbor water began to ripple.

People further down the promenade started shouting.

A few cultivators ran toward the docks.

Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing remained still.

Then the bells began ringing one after another.

.

.

.

to be continued.